Purpose builds resilience
Passion gets you started. Purpose gets you through. A keynote from the fastest person, and the first woman, to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica.
Check availabilityDownload the one-sheetAre your people facing change and uncertainty? Running on empty? Being asked to deliver something that has to matter?
Lisa Blair OAM works with organisations that need their people to keep going when it's hard. She's the fastest person, and the first woman, to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica, and she knows from 1,000 miles out that resilience doesn't come from willpower. It comes from knowing why it matters.
A story your people will carry with them
When Lisa's mast came crashing down 1,000 nautical miles from land, every instinct said set off the beacon. What got her through that night wasn't the boat, and it wasn't willpower. It was the thousands of people whose climate pledges were wrapped around her hull, and the reason she was out there in the first place.
Purpose Builds Resilience takes your audience onto the boat with her: from falling in love with the ocean at 25, to the sea of plastic that gave her a purpose, to the dismasting, the phone call home, and going back five years later to become the fastest person ever to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica. Along the way, it shows why people who know what they're sailing for keep going when others stop, and how sharing that purpose lets a team carry each other through change, pressure and burnout.
No sailing knowledge needed. Funny, raw and honest, and always tailored to your brief.
Five moments
Falling in love with the ocean
Lisa didn't grow up sailing. At 25 she went from art teacher and shop assistant to a job on a charter boat in the Whitsundays, and fell head over heels for the ocean. Within a few years she was racing 40,000 nautical miles around the world.
Passion got her started.
A sea of plastic
Racing around the world, she saw a styrofoam box drifting 20 days from land, then sailed through water so thick with rubbish a crew member had to push it off the bow. It changed her. Over the next few years she set out to sail solo around Antarctica, bought her first boat, named it Climate Action Now and wrapped it in thousands of handwritten climate pledges.
That's where she found her purpose.
1,000 miles from land
On day 72 of that first attempt, her mast came crashing down in the night and began cutting the boat in half. Hypothermic, alone, frozen at the bow, she could have set off her beacon. She didn't. It wasn't the boat and it wasn't willpower: it was Sally and her short showers, and every other promise wrapped around that hull.
Purpose got her hand back on the rail.
The phone call home
Months later, swept off the deck in a winter storm, she called her mum to quit. Her mum didn't argue; she helped Lisa see it differently, because Lisa had brought her into every plan, every risk, every reason.
When you share your purpose, your people can steer you back.
Going back
She finished as the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica, and came home feeling she'd failed. Five years later she went back and became the fastest person ever to do it solo, non-stop and unassisted.
Purpose is what's worth going back for.
The lines audiences take home
"Just do, because the world is changed by doers."
The TV ad that started it all
"Know how to use the storm sails before leaving port."
On preparation
"A life raft is a last resort raft."
On the dismasting
"Building a new mast can be safer than the easy rescue."
On the container ship
"Trim your sails to only catch the wind you want."
On the doubters
"Who is the mum in your story?"
On the people who carry you
"Not setting sail is the only true failure."
On failure
"When passion meets purpose, anything is possible."
On purpose
The business case for purpose
Teams don't break because they're weak. They break when they lose sight of why it matters. People with a strong sense of purpose are far less likely to burn out: 11% report regular burnout, compared with 52% of people with weak purpose (Gallup and Stand Together). In a five-year study of more than 5,000 employees, people with passion and purpose performed in the 80th percentile, against the 20th for passion alone (Morten Hansen, Great at Work). And customers notice: half of UK consumers would switch to a brand with stronger sustainability credentials (Fox + Hare).
Lisa doesn't hand your people a model. She takes them onto the boat, and leaves every one of them with their own answer to the question that carried her around Antarctica: what are you sailing for?
Built around your brief
Leaders & teams through change
Restructures, acquisitions, new strategy, uncertainty: the keynote shows teams why purpose, not pressure, is what keeps people going.
How it works for this audience →Sustainability events & climate panels
For launching a sustainability commitment or climate panel: the sea of plastic, the science she collected at sea, and why every action matters.
How it works for this audience →Women in leadership & IWD
From art teacher at 25 to the first woman to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antarctica, in one of the world's most male-dominated sports.
How it works for this audience →Schools & young people
Age-tailored talks on courage, ocean science, mental health and big goals, and why every action matters.
How it works for this audience →From the people who booked her
"Lisa's presentation was so well received, with the audience in awe of her achievements and the message she was delivering, so much so that she received a standing ovation."
Dawn Newman OAM, International Zonta Convention (1,700 delegates)
"Lisa is a captivating presenter. She delivered a real-life story of courage and resilience that left us inspired with the power of persistence to overcome obstacles and achieve your goals."
Steve Harris, CEO, The Brand Agency
"What an incredible launch event today. Lisa was amazing and had the team buzzing. Talk about an engaging storyteller."
QBE Insurance
How Lisa can work with you
A full 45 to 60-minute keynote with Q&A, a 15 to 30-minute story, a workshop, or as a panellist, fireside guest or MC, including climate panels and sustainability events such as World Environment Day, World Oceans Day and sustainability launches. In person across Australia, the UK and worldwide, or virtual.
Questions organisers ask
What is the Purpose Builds Resilience keynote about?
It's the story of Lisa Blair's solo voyages around Antarctica, told through the moments where purpose, not willpower, kept her going: the dismasting 1,000 miles from land, the call home when she wanted to quit, and going back five years later to set the record. Audiences leave with their own answer to the question that carried her: what are you sailing for?
Is it a motivational talk or a practical one?
It's a story first, and it lands on something every person can use the next morning: a clear sense of why their work matters, and how sharing that purpose helps teams carry each other through hard times.
Can it be tailored to our theme?
Yes. The keynote is shaped around your brief, whether that's change and uncertainty, burnout, a sustainability launch, women in leadership or a school audience.
How long is the keynote?
Usually 45 to 60 minutes with Q&A, with shorter 15 to 30-minute versions, panels and fireside conversations available.
Purpose builds resilience. Let's bring it to your people.
Tell us your date, location and audience, and Lisa will come back to you personally with availability and fees. Speaker bureaus and agencies are welcome.
Check availabilityCall 0431 302 088